Emperor of the Fading Suns

Hyperion



Documentation: Attack Modes

The attack modes in EFS represent an interesting way to engage in combat and they also present many different strategic possibilities. In order to design units, I needed to understand the differences between the different combat modes, as well as each mode's strengths and weaknesses.

Underwater combat is the first attack mode available, and so makes naval units with this capability extremely powerful against other naval units. Since it can only be used against naval units, it doesn't have any other implication besides naval combat. A unit with Underwater attack capability gets 4 chances to hit its target(s).

Indirect combat is the first attack mode for ground battles and is a very powerful attack capability because of its precedence and the units that it can hit. Indirect can hit Foot, Wheel, Tread, Naval, Hover, and Crawler units and so therefore can be used as a general-purpose attack mode for a given unit. Because it doesn't target a specific unit type, Indirect combat is not good for taking out specific units, but rather a one-glove-fits-all approach to combat. Air units with Indirect are very deadly because of this. Units with Indirect attack capability get 2 chances to hit its target(s).

Air is the next combat mode, and is useful against both air and naval units. Ground units (Foot, Wheel, Tread, Hover, or Crawler) that have this mode can be very effective against air units that do not have an Indirect-attack capability. A unit with Air attack capability gets 2 chances to hit its target(s).

Direct attack is the next attack mode and it allows a unit to specifically target armored units (i.e. Wheel, Tread, Hover, and Crawler). Units with a Direct attack mode can be used specifically to take out armored units. A unit with Direct attack capability gets 3 chances to hit its target(s).

Close combat is the next attack mode and allows a unit to specifically target foot units. Since it is target specific like Direct combat, it allows units with this attack mode to be very effective against foot units. A unit with Close attack capability gets 4 chances to hit its target(s).

The next attack mode is Psychic attack. Although, coming last in the planet attack modes, its ability to target any unit makes its use extremely potent against any other unit. A unit with a high accuracy / high strength Psychic attack can be very powerful if it survives to the Psychic attack phase. Units with Psychic attack capability get 2 chances to hit its target(s).

The space combat modes are similar to planet combat modes when it comes to the order, but with the use of a clever targeting adjustment, some interesting space combat battles can now occur. Ranged Space is the first attack mode used in space combat. Because of this, it can be deadly against other space units. However, to keep units with Ranged Space from attacking fighters, bombers, and space marines, Lander units are not targetable by Ranged Space weapons. This makes Ranged Space weapons useful against capital ships only. This makes Lander units with Ranged-Space capability extremely useful against Jump and Space units. A unit with Ranged Space attack capability gets 2 chances to hit its target(s).

The next space combat mode is Direct Space. Any unit can be targeted with Direct Space, so it is a very effective combat mode against any space unit. A unit with Direct Space attack capability gets 3 chances to hit its target(s).

The last space combat mode is Close Space. It is similar to Direct Space in that any unit can be targeted with Close Space. A unit with Close Space attack capability gets 4 chances to hit its target(s).

 
Page created by Matt Caspermeyer